Taiwan’s Identity: Time to Drop Mandarin?

No.

This dialect is so fucking annoying to the ears.

Sounds so blue collar and/or uneducated.

Wa Ga Li fucking Gong!

9 Likes

Boooo

2 Likes

Many Taiwanese are under the impression that writing doesn’t even exist in Taiwanese Hokkien despite the efforts of the education dept to push Tailuo and the long history of Pe̍h-ōe-jī.
My Taiwanese Hokkien teacher teaches classes from elementary to university. He’ll tell you that it is definitely not more than half that speak the language.

Many will choose not to learn because their parents tell them that English is more important. The government also allows parents to choose other languages like Burmese or Indonesian so resources are spread thin. English is the only choice for most parents since there is a clear benefit to learning.

I don’t think it should be forced on people either. My wife’s family is Amis. They have no interest in speaking in Taiwanese. To them it is a colonial language that represents a history of discrimination towards aboriginals.

6 Likes

LOL you’ve gone really native if you think in this way.

To my white ass they’re just two chinese languages. The idea that one has more “prestige” is funny to me.

1 Like

Used to ask my elementary students: “Can you speak Taiwanese?”
A: Vigorous nods, followed by: “Tsit, nung, sann…” That and “pixie”, “douxiang” and “jiapeng” was about it. They could sometimes understand their grandparents on simple things, but usually couldn’t reply.
Hakka and Aboriginal languages are dying, and Taiwanese is following.

1 Like

Is English even Taiwan’s official second language yet ?

I heard some rumblings about that a few years ago.

what the actual fuck dude? random pinyin much?

For educated folks, it’s sound of Tang Dynasty poetry.

Of course it can also be used roughly, just as English can be used roughly. You want us to all speak like poets? :rofl:

Guy

6 Likes

Just give me some betel nut and i’ll ruin this language too.

3 Likes

That’s basically the case for dialects every where.

I just have no interest in it because I have spent a billion hours trying to get a grasp around Chinese. Now I get my gfs parents telling me I have to learn some Tai yu aswell. They expect too much.

2 Likes

“Dialect” is Chinglish. They’re languages, it’s not even debatable.

3 Likes

It should exist only as a second language in schools.

It’s not even Chinglish, it’s Chinese nationalists’ attempt at deleting minority identities. And yes that obviously includes the “Chinese nationalist party”.

3 Likes

Just had a conversation with a Hokkien speaker in Kaohsiung. They teach the kids Hokkien in school here, she couldn’t follow the textbook very well though cos she learned it from speaking.

3 Likes

I get it I really do.

But learning a few words of Taiwanese is just going big you up in the locals eyes by 10x.

My inlaws aren’t Minnan people so I have less incentive. If I was you I’d learn some more stock pharases will do wonders for you

Also you break their secret code when they don’t want you to understand…

3 Likes

Seems some people dont know the meaning of the word dialect.

1 Like

Numbers. You need to know numbers, especially if you shop at traditional markets .

3 Likes

Its good we know so much of what is good (or not) for the locals, however they may be so defined.

Taiwanese is just hokkien from fujian province spoken by a Chinese people brought over to the island

The real Taiwanese are the aboriginal languages of Taiwan

Those are the real Taiwanese

If we want to promote hokkien then what about Japanese

Taiwan was a colony of Japan for fifty years

Why do we not include that language to express the essence of being Taiwanese

I grew up speaking Taiwanese as my first language and spoke with my mom in English as well as Taiwanese while she spoke with her parents in Japanese . She was born in japan and raised in Malaysia and went to an English school

Japanese is very much part of Taiwan’s history

And now also mandarin

Mandarin is spoken more and more and Taiwanese less and less

Myself I rarely speak Taiwanese anymore

I don’t want this language to die in Taiwan

But in recognition of Taiwanese let’s not forget Taiwan’s history included Japanese and now mandarin

As well as remembering the real Taiwanese are the aboriginal languages of Taiwan

Perhaps later it’s going to be English but that is some ways away

Not to mention the large number of Hakka speakers too

13 Likes

Sure but the attitude of ‘now you must learn Taiwanese to please us’ has just put me off the whole language to be honest.

I just tune it out, whearas before i was at least half interested.

Might be a controversial thing to say but i have zero interest in Taiwanese.

4 Likes